Before I went to High School Musical 3: Senior Year, I read a review in Rolling Stone by Peter Travers that called it a “nonthreatening sexual marshmallow.” I wasn’t expecting too much from this movie. After seeing HSM3, I saw plenty of marshmallow, but it ended up being part of its charm. Without the fluff and circumstance, it would never be what its fans expect.

The music in the third installment of HSM was by far the best and the dance sequences were better than anyone could have expected. Everything is bigger and better – Disney on steroids. Two of the songs that demonstrate this gargantuan endeavor are “The Boys are Back” and “I Want It All.” While both songs were completely unnecessary to the advancement of the plot, both were larger than life and included a huge array of cast members and dance routines. The visual stimulation was great and the characters were as lovable as ever.

One of the new character twists introduced to give this movie a semblance of a fresh take is a hint of romance between Ryan and Kelsi. Apparently, he was only waiting for Kelsi to pick up on his hidden yearnings.

Disney was also smart enough to introduce some new characters to the scene. The first is “Rocket Man,” a newbie to the Wildcat basketball squad and all around stalker of Troy. He is always the fall back boy, on the court and on the stage. He has his own side-kick Donny and together they make an eerie duo that we may or may not have seen before in the movies.

The other new Wildcat of note is Tiara, a diva-to-be waiting to fill Sharpay’s bedazzled stilettos the moment the opportunity arises. These new characters were set up to continue the series should Disney ever choose to keep milking the cash cow they’ve created. The prelude to the extended Disney series was a bit overdone and too similar to the plot of the original.

The characters the audience has become familiar with like Troy, Gabriella, Chad and Taylor were the same as always. They haven’t changed a bit and no one bothered to add any depth to them for the big screen; their problems are still the same and the plot is no different, just set one year later.

Overall, the movie was light on content but big on fun and show-stopping musical numbers. This closet High School Musical fan gives it a B, but that might be a little high for what it actually is. What can I say? I’m a sucker for a catchy tune and that there are plenty in this cotton candy film!

Popularity: 15% [?]

Note: this piece was prepared before November 4, and as such does not reflect the results of the 2008 presidential election.

On October 29 the Obama campaign unleashed a 30 minute documentary-style advertisement that aired during prime time on many of the major networks. The special was a huge success with an estimated 30 million people tuning in to watch it, scoring a Nielsen rating of 22 – meaning that 22 percent of all households with televisions in the nation watched the program.

The program itself begins with a short introduction by Obama, accompanied by a beautiful scene of golden wheat blowing in the wind and a soundtrack that is reminiscent of the score that Randy Edelman composed for the movie Gettysburg.

After the brief introduction Obama introduces the first of many families that are struggling to afford healthcare and pay their bills, desperately concerned about “making ends meet.” Following this touching characterization of the average American family, Mr. Obama blithely pins the blame for the current economic crisis on President Bush and “eight years of failed policies.” This point is used as a transition into a short segment on Barack Obama’s economic policies, none of which are actually enumerated, but simply alluded to in an amorphous way meant to appeal to the emotions of the viewer.

It isn’t until about 12 minutes into the program that the viewer is actually given specific numbers and information regarding Obama’s policy proposals. Occasionally, notable supporters appear on screen to share their fervor for these proposals, including Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google.

The program continues to profile American families and workers that bring forth numerous grievances, complaining about the economy, taxes, cost of living, of healthcare and unemployment. One cannot but help feeling sympathy for these families, which is precisely the reaction that the entire advertisement seeks to elicit.

The program touches on education, using Obama’s own modest childhood to help bolster his credibility. Following this, about 20 minutes into the program, Obama begins to talk about his personal life, as the show displays clips from the campaign trail that highlight Obama’s vision for America’s youth.

Michelle Obama makes an appearance and talks shortly about her husband, and is followed by a string of prominent Democratic politicians that similarly praise Obama’s credentials and political prowess. As the Obamamentary passes the 20 minute mark the tone shifts to convey Obama’s hopes for America, very broadly presenting the policies not previously mentioned in the program, like Obama’s plans for the military. Shortly after these remarks the program begins to conclude, as the inspirational music returns with Obama speaking passionately in the foreground.

From a cinematic perspective, the Obamamentary was well produced. The entire concept of having a half an hour primetime special is unique and is certainly a testament to the originality and ingenuity that the Obama campaign has brought to this election. However, from a political perspective, one must hope that an Obama presidency would be more concrete than the thirty minutes of emotional appeals that characterized this advertisement.

For some this program was undoubtedly inspirational, and for others most certainly entertaining in a sarcastic sort of way. Either way, millions of people tuned in last week and millions more have viewed the corresponding YouTube video. So, whether the program influenced votes or not, it has certainly earned the right to be called a success.

Popularity: 14% [?]

A “forgotten treasure” and a great resource close to campus, the Humphrey IMAX was deserted when I arrived for the 4:40 showing of Mysteries of the Great Lakes. A natural resource that has been the recent topic of environmental controversy, learning more about our Great Lakes is both currently relevant and local.

The information presented in the movie was interesting and touched on several different topics including the near wipeout of the lake sturgeon, the shipping industry and the shipwrecks that have occurred in the great lakes, some amazing statistics about the environmental importance of the great lakes, and the poisoning of Lake Erie – one of the turning points in the environmental movement and awareness.

If the Great Lakes aren’t something you are interested in, try one of the other equally informative and captivating movies the IMAX has to offer. With the opening of the new Titanic exhibit at the museum came a new movie, presented by Disney, called Ghosts of the Abyss. This movie is all about exploring the wreck of the Titanic and promises unprecedented views of the Titanic wreckage.

In the spirit for a little bit of Halloween fun? Check out the Spooky Skies, showing at the Planetarium. Like classic rock? Try Rock Stars 2. There are plenty of educational and entertaining options to choose from if only you take the quick walk and check it out.

Popularity: 14% [?]

When Chuck Palahniuk’s Choke hit bookshelves in June of 2002, it quickly became a National Bestseller. It was no surprise when an adaptation of the book was made into a movie, just like Fight Club. The movie’s director and screenwriter Clark Gregg stays as true to the book as I have seen in any movie in a long time. While Fight Club was close, the ending, although exciting and tastefully written, was a disappointing stray from the book, and do not even get me started on Breakfast at Tiffany’s (don’t get me wrong; it is a wonderfully romantic movie, but if you actually enjoyed the book, I’m sure you felt severely gypped like I did).

Choke is the story of Victor Mancini (Sam Rockwell, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy). He is an ordinary guy, with more flaws than scratches on your oldest CD, but, like most, he is barely scraping by. Things have been extra tough since he dropped out of medical school. Victor works at a historical colony theme park with his best friend Denny (Brad William Henke, Must Love Dogs), where they spend their work days trying not to be banished by the colonial council for any illegal acts that would have been inaccurate to the reenactment of eighteenth century America. Victor’s other source of income comes from people he scams into loving him. If you were wondering where the title “choke” comes from, here it is: Victor has a habit of going to restaurants and pretends he is choking on his food so someone will save him. It sounds sick, but his rationale seems slightly logical and benefits both parties. He is able to create an instant and lifelong friendship, and, in turn, the rescuer feels proud and heroic. Oh yeah, not to mention that Victor tells pity stories for money and receives cards on the choking / life saving anniversary. All of the money that Victor acquires goes to pay his mother’s hospital bill. Ida Mancini (Anjelica Huston, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) has been a thorn in Victor’s side all of his life, but she is the only one that has loved him his entire life. Ida spent her life teaching Victor how to turn order into chaos and all sorts of other revolutionary ideas. Now she is in a deteriorated state and never quite sure who she is talking to. Victor tries to hold onto his mother long enough to get her secret out about where he comes from, but gets side tracked by her doctor, Paige Marshall (Kelly Macdonald, No Country for Old Men). As a sex addict stuck on recovery step four, Victor usually uses women for only one purpose, but cannot bring himself to have his usual relations with Paige. The intertwining issues of wanting to know who he really is, his growing feelings for Paige and being stuck in the same place as Denny progresses begins to tax Victor within an inch of his own sanity.

To find out all the juicy details and how it ends, you will have to see the movie, or maybe read the book — whichever you have the time for. If you already read the book, I think you will like the ghastly similarities, and unless you are anal like me you might not even notice every minute detail left out. So if we are looking up or getting Biblical, I will give this movie four and a half out of five stars.

Popularity: 14% [?]

There are times I go to movies expecting them to be bad. Some, like last summer’s Transformers, leave me pleasantly surprised. Others, like Let’s Go To Prison leave me wondering how my friends talked me into going. Superhero Movie leans more towards being a pleasant surprise, but be warned: not everyone will find this movie funny.

Superhero Movie belongs to the deadpan comedy genre created by Airplane! in 1980. The same sense of controlled chaos felt in Airplane! runs through the veins of Superhero Movie, and for good reason: David Zucker is one of the producers. This translates into plenty of fart gags, zany references to current events, and superhero spoofs.  In short, this is the kind of movie that appeals to the 12 year old boy in all of us.

Rick Ricker starts out as a typical high school nerd a la Peter Parker, when during a school field trip he is unexpectedly bitten by a genetically enhanced dragonfly. He soon discovers that he is nearly invincible, can climb walls and has super strength. About the same time, scientist Lou Landers, in an attempt to cure himself of what the movie terms a “terminal illness,” accidently turns himself into a parasite. He needs to drain the life from people to survive. Eventually, he hatches a plan that will grant him immortality by sacrificing the lives of thousands of people. Rick, now the super-powered Dragonfly, vows to stop him and after a number of fights, does.

Along the way, the audience is invited to see Rick make a costume, learn about his powers from Professor Xavier, and have run-ins with other superheroes including the Human Torch. The trip is typically an enjoyable one; although some of the gags leave the audience wondering when the joke will end.

The actors, for the most part, play the roles well. Drake Bell plays the idealistic Dragonfly and pulls off a pretty good Tobey Maguire impression. The only complaint against him is he has the same shocked look locked onto his face at least 10 times during the movie. It is funny at first, but around the seventh time, you start to wonder if he is capable of any other facial expressions. Leslie Nielson, still refusing to show his age, steals the scene every time he is on camera. Not that this is a bad thing, but he is sadly missing from much of the movie. This mistake was probably realized by the director, as most of his later appearances felt contrived and made up on the spot. The rest of the cast does a good job of supporting and uplifting these two characters.

I will not lie; this movie is far from revolutionary. However, if you have ever been a sucker for superhero movies, you will find yourself enjoying this movie. It definitely could have held true to its name and included more superhero cameos. As it is, it largely stays focused with spoofing Spiderman. The highlights of the film come when other superheroes are included, but unfortunately these scenes feel like they take up less than five minutes of film.

With great material comes a great responsibility to make the joke. Superhero Movie accomplishes this in a lukewarm manner. It has a few jokes not seen in the commercials, though the jokes seen on TV are some of the better gags in the film. However, for anyone who has ever thought about what it would be like to put on a pair of tights and be a hero, this movie is worth seeing at least once.

Overall verdict: 2.5/5 (Average)

Popularity: 24% [?]

It is that time of year again. As Halloween approaches once more, people are inextricably drawn to horror movies. Seeing as how it is psychologically healthy to watch movies that shock, terrorize and desensitize us, I have come up with my own list of movies to watch this Halloween.

“Dracula”

The original movie staring Bela Lugosi is truly terrifying. I especially like how every time Dracula is about to grab someone’s neck with his teeth the movie fades to black and does not show the actual act! Give it up for horror movies made during the end of the Victorian era! Want to be really scared? Know that this movie probably offended people when it was made.

“Van Helsing”

Given the increasingly short attention spans of American audiences, Universal Studio executives decided to make a movie with not just one or two monsters, but as many as they could fit in. I am sure this decision had nothing to do with the re-release of those classic Universal monster movies such as “The Wolfman,” “Dracula” and “Frankenstein.” “Van Helsing” goes above and beyond with both its rich character development and realistic special effects. Seriously.

“Underworld 1 and 2”

Question: How can you improve upon a movie about vampires at war with werewolves?Answer: By adding Kate Beckinsale and lots of political intrigue.

The low budget original was followed by a bigger sequel with more violence and a pretty good “final death” sequence for the lead bad guy.

“Alien”

Some people call this movie the scariest of all time Having seen it a number of times I think it is safe to say it is pretty tame by today’s standards. However, given the fact that every other science fiction or horror movie shamelessly rips off what it originally did, maybe there is something to that title.

The “Saw” Movies

Ah yes, the slasher movies. Seriously who would not want to watch a movie about a sick character that goes around kidnapping people and forcing them to dismember themselves? There is even a new one coming out on October 26. However, you may just want to wait until the unrated version comes out on DVD.

Popularity: 22% [?]

Being a bubblegum pop-punk star with more media exposure than the pope isn’t easy work, just ask Fall Out Boy. Better yet, listen to rap tycoon Jay-Z in the opening lines of the first, and “originally” titled, track “Thriller” off of its newest Virgin Records release, Infinity on High: “What you critics said would never happen, we dedicate this album to everyone who ever said we couldn’t make it, to the fans that held us down because everyone came around, welcome, it’s here.”

Unfortunately, Jay-Z is correct; it is here. Although it’s painful, it is indeed here.

What was once a musically pleasing and boarder-line genius pop-punk quartet, Fall Out Boy has become the latest band to inevitably succumb to the depths of the MTV and TRL generation. One must have seen this coming after their 2005 major label debut From Under the Cork Tree blew up like a peep in the microwave, but for whatever reason, the original fans of the Chicago-based rock outlet maintained hope that their sound would eventually drift back to their Fueled by Ramen days. Infinity on High confirms that those days are dead and gone; they will take it to their graves.

This 14 track effort is full of forced vocals, redundant musical work, and lyrics that either pertain to their discontent with the music industry or all too similar to what they have used in the past. Unfortunately, this album will again explode and go multi-platinum. FOB will continue to be popular as long as there are still junior high girls around.

In various interviews, the band has stressed it isn’t going for a new sound with this record, thus the first single, “This Ain’t a Scene, it’s an Arms Race.” While it is true that this particular song is animatedly different than anything they have ever released, it is untrue to think that the rest of the album follows the same trend. This is the only track on the album that stands out in terms of a new found sound. It is nearly impossible to differentiate the tracks “The Take Over, the Breaks Over,” “I’m Like a Lawyer With the Ways I’m Always Trying to Get You Off” and “Thnks Fr Th Mmrs” from any of the songs from Cork Tree. They even decided to take a page out of Panic! At the Disco’s book with the big bandesque songs “The (After) Life of the Party” and “I’ve Got All This Ringing in My Ears and None on My Fingers,” both struggle to meet even Panic!’s standards.

However, the entire album isn’t completely brutal. The tracks “Hum Halleluiah” and “Don’t You Know Who I Think I Am” serve as the lone bright spots on the dusty, unoriginal record. So, when you get down to the math of it, one out of every seven songs is listenable, and that’s not too bad, right?

The boys of Fall Out Boy have finally buried themselves from any tie they had with whatever punk genre they were apart of. Infinity on High is a weak release from a band that is capable of accomplishing so much more than the monetary successes they have obviously become attached to. What was once good music has become a compromise to earn the No. 1 spot on every music video countdown cable television has to offer. As track 13 on IOH implies, “You’re Crashing, But You’re No Wave.” No, it’s not a wave at all, it is Fall Out Boy itself crashing.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Even with a student discount at the AMC, it’s pretty expensive to see a movie in the theater these days. And frankly, many movies aren’t worth the $8. But every once in awhile, an excellent film makes up for all of that wasted cash and time, earning its spot on Facebook fanatics’ favorite movies lists everywhere. Christopher Nolan (Memento, Batman Begins) has created such a masterpiece, The Prestige, which is based on a book by Christopher Priest. Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) share a common dream of becoming the best magician in 19th century London. At first, they work together under the guidance of Cutter (Michael Caine), a veteran in the field who manages and trains aspiring magicians. But a bitter rivalry is spawned when Angier’s wife (Piper Perabo), a beautiful magician’s assistant, dies tragically performing a trick, and Angier holds Borden responsible. A cut-throat, manipulative rivalry ensues between the two magicians who are engaged in an obsessive competition to “one-up” the other.

Borden is a competent magician but lacks the mesmerizing stage presence that Angier possesses. Angier, though he can command the audience, is perpetually attempting to unravel Borden’s tricks, the most captivating being Borden’s innovative “Transported Man.” Consumed by his desire to steal the limelight, Angier travels to the end of the earth (well, Colorado) to consult with world-renowned and historically based inventor and engineer, Nikolai Tesla (David Bowie). Also mixed up in the devastating cycle are Borden’s wife, played by Rebecca Hall, and his beautiful assistant, Olivia, played by none other than the ever-seductive Scarlett Johanssen.

Here’s the marvelous thing about this movie: it’s perfect for everyone. For the moviegoer seeking a film involving obsession, sabotage, revenge and competition, The Prestige will satisfy every adventurous whim. For the audience member who doesn’t enjoy the actual plot, there’s an abundance of handsomeness: Batman and Wolverine in the same movie. Also, the supporting cast adds additional flavor to the film. Caine, as usual, commands the screen in all of his scenes. Johanssen embodies her role, albeit a role similar to many of her others, and adds tension to the plot. Although the sci-fi component isn’t the film’s strongest element, Bowie fits the role of the enigmatic and strange scientist, Tesla, quite well. Movies about magic are a new trend but not yet overdone. Actually, the movie offers quite an interesting look at the trials and tribulations of being a professional trickster.

Viewers must pay careful attention from the first line of the film – “Are you watching closely?” – to its unexpected finale. For every twist realized by the audience, Nolan provides another, keeping viewers always on their toes. He directs the film as if it were, in itself, a magic trick, giving it the three parts that each trick possesses: “The Pledge,” which captivates the audience, “The Turn,” in which something ordinary becomes something extraordinary and “The Prestige,” the magnificent revelation in which viewers are left in disbelief and awe. This story could have been told in a straightforward chronological manner, methodically alternating between Borden and Angier, but Nolan has indeed made The Prestige a deceptive and intricate tale. He possesses both the fundamentals and the artistic touch, a balance coveted by magicians and film makers alike. This film is worth $7, 135 minutes and a sore rear-end, leaving viewers longing to see it again and eager to find out what other tricks Nolan has up his sleeve.

Popularity: 19% [?]